Broccoli-Stuffed Chicken

I had a friend come up to me the other day and confide that he had never had broccoli, but wanted to try and eat healthier so he bought some and didn’t know what to do with it.

I got really excited because I knew the perfect recipe for him to try- something super simple, but with big flavor and appeal. I told him this was a meal he could cook for a girl and impress her, and better yet, it’s healthy!

To start, take your broccoli (if you are using frozen make sure to let it thaw a little so the chicken can cook correctly) and pulse it in a food processor until it has broken up into little pieces like this…

Then, chop up a couple cloves of fresh garlic. (Garlic powder is okay tooif you’re in a pinch)

Next, add the garlic and about 1/2 C. of cheese (your choice! I usually use parmesan or sharp cheddar) to the broccoli mixture in your food processor and pulse it a couple of times…

Now, it’s chicken time! Get out your sharpest boning (or paring) knife and cut a little slit in the side of a chicken breast. Bring the blade down inside, making sure not to poke through. Make a “pocket” in the chicken breast that spans as much of the interior as possible, while keeping your exterior slit no bigger than 2-2 1/2″ Like so…

Then its time to stuff the chicken!

Fill ‘er good and full!

Then, just sprinkle them lightly with salt and plop them on a sprayed, aluminum foil-lined pan (for easy clean-up!) and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 F.

They look much better after they’re cooked, but they’re so good that we were too excited to eat them and forgot to take a finished picture!